I WAS HERE…Will you be there? Opening reception of I WAS HERE at City Hall, January 16

Mayor David Miller and the City of Toronto host the opening reception of I WAS HERE, a large-format photography exhibit featuring images and text created by five women, all pregnant or parenting, who have had experience with homelessness. I WAS HERE documents their lives in Toronto, and was developed in media workshops held by the National Film Board of Canada’s Filmmaker-in-Residence program, working with St. Michael’s Hospital and the Young Parents, No Fixed Address Network.

“I’m proud and honoured to be hosting this exhibition which will allow Torontonians to see and hear the deeply moving stories that these talented young women tell through their art,” said Mayor Miller.

The exhibit features large-format prints and text written by the women. After launching in the Rotunda at City Hall, the tour travels to the Toronto Free Gallery, then to St. Michael’s Hospital with a final showcase at the NFB Mediatheque (schedule below):

For the behind-the-scenes story of I WAS HERE, visit http://www.nfb.ca/filmmakerinresidence.
I WAS HERE is an NFB Filmmaker-in-Residence project. More information about I WAS HERE is available at www.nfb.ca/iwashere.

Filmmaker-in-Residence is an alternative model of media making that is collaborative, participatory and community-based. Filmmaker-in-Residence Katerina Cizek works with the frontlines of healthcare - doctors, nurses, researchers and patients - to put the power of media into the hands of citizens - the true agents of social change. With access to St. Michael’s Hospital’s Inner City Health Unit, and to global projects that impact Canadian healthcare, the National Film Board of Canada’s Filmmaker-in-Residence program partners media with medicine in innovative ways, using film, video, mobile devices, online, photography, and art.

Toronto is Canada’s largest city and sixth largest government, and home to a diverse population of more than 2.6 million people. It is the economic engine of Canada and one of the greenest and most creative cities in North America. In the past three years Toronto has won more than 50 awards for quality and innovation in delivering public services. Toronto’s government is dedicated to prosperity, opportunity and liveability for all its residents.